Chicago Rapper G Herbo Arrested And Charged In Massachusetts For Stealing Identities To Pay For "Designer Puppies", Private Jets, and A Jamaican Villa
Chicago Tribune- Chicago drill rapper G Herbo grew up on the Southeast Side in an area dubbed “Terror Town,” a far cry from the world of private jets, tropical villas and designer puppies.
His youth, as described in his blunt lyrics, was spent dodging bullets and hanging out on the violent streets near 79th Street and Essex Avenue. But as his star rose with collaborations with the likes of Nicki Minaj and Chief Keef and money rolled in, Herbo, whose real name is Herbert Wright III, said he started to realize it was time to move on from his past and embrace his newfound fame.
Now Wright, 25, finds himself with new difficulties. He has been named in a federal fraud case brought in Massachusetts alleging he, his music promoter and other members of his crew used stolen identifications to charge more than a million dollars’ worth of exotic services over a four-year period.
People outside Chicago that aren't rap heads have zero clue who G Herbo is, but that was supposed to change this year.
He's been trending upward becoming more and more popular outside the Chicago rap circle.
Forbes named him one of their "30 Under 30" musicians to watch earlier this week-
He was also just on Jimmy Fallon with Chance The Rapper performing "PTSD" 3 weeks ago
Things seemed on the up and up until this news dropped.
According to the indictment, the scheme centered on the defendants’ use of stolen credit card information and personal identities obtained either from the “dark web” or other sources.
The defendants then texted or used social media to share the stolen information on the fly, at times even as merchants were in the process of charging the goods or services. They referred to the stolen information in coded messages as “cards,” “moves” or “joints,” according to the charges.
In November 2017, Strong, using the name “Darren Geiger” and identifying himself as Wright’s manager, called an unidentified pet company in Michigan to order “two designer puppies” for Wright using a stolen credit card, according to the charges.
The pet company appeared to be suspicious and asked for Wright to confirm the order by messaging it directly from his Instagram account, the indictment alleged. Strong allegedly sent a text to Wright saying, “Hurry just message that b---- hello.”
The indictment alleged Wright did what he was told. The company representative messaged Wright back on Instagram, asking, “You are getting 2 puppies correct?” Wright then confirmed the order, according to the charges.
Bender later used the same stolen credit information to arrange for a car service to pick up the puppies in Michigan and bring them to Chicago, the indictment alleged.
The crew also used stolen credit cards to charge a week’s stay at a villa in Jamaica in July 2017 — at Wright’s request, according to the indictment. Another trip to Sunny Isles, Florida, a year before was also charged illegally, along with a personal chef and private security team.
In March 2017, Strong used the alias “Richard O’Malley” to book a private jet for Wright and an entourage of eight others from Chicago to Miami, where Sorrells and an unnamed co-conspirator had used a different stolen identity to rent luxury cars for the crew, including a Bentley CGTC and Maybach S600, according to the indictment.
The charges alleged Wright and his crew also illegally charged trips to Miami, Texas, New York, New Jersey and California, where they booked hotel rooms and paid for meals and other services using stolen identities.
Not good G Herbo. Not good at all.
Few questions upon reading these allegations though. Maybe somebody in the know can answer.
1- What is a drill rapper doing buying "designer" puppies?
(Drill rap is basically 2020 "horrorcore". Real dark and nihilistic shit about real life in the ghetto. Basically think the total opposite of Flo-rida)
1a- What is a "designer puppy"?
Are we talking one of those pomeranian guys?
Because those dogs are cute as fuck, but not really what you envision a rapper carrying around.
Jean-Paul Aussenard. Getty Images.
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2- What kind of dogs were we talking these designer puppies were?
3- How did the gentlemen know how to navigate the "dark web"? Isn't the dark web for all the hackers and underworld bosses? Just the name of it gives me the heebie-jeebies. How were these guys going on there and acquiring the means to rack up hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of trips and luxury goods so easily? Actually, nevermind I don't even want to know.
4- Does this change things for Forbes? Do they regret naming this kid one of their 30 people under the age of 30 to keep an eye on? Or did they mean keep an eye on him because he might take your identity and run off to Jamaica with ten of his buddies and put it all on your tab?